Vendetta: AU Style
by changingdestiny40
Summary: A slight season 1 rewrite in which Oliver, wanting Helena to find closure over her fiancé's murder, and also personally understanding the desire to avenge the person you love, agrees to help in her endeavor to kill her father.
1. Chapter 1

**In regards to Helena, we all know she was a villain and psycho. However I feel that she's been judged too harshly by some during the beginning of her S1 arc and I can understand why she'd want to kill her father for murdering her fiancé and can't say he didn't deserve it. Plus as my friend here Bl4ckhunter pointed out, she wasn't evil (at least in the beginning). She was lost.**

**In addition, Frank Bertinelli was on Oliver's List and therefore a part of the powerful criminal elite poisoning the city.**

**Therefore I'll be trying my own hand in which Oliver not only allows Helena to kill her father, but also helps said endeavor but without the body count or Helena threatening their city.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Arrow".**

"What the he** were you thinking?!", Oliver almost shouted at Helena as he dragged her to the side after preventing her from assassinating the head of the Triad in Starling.

"It's simple Oliver. I take out Zhishan, make it look like my father did it, and in turn provoke a war between him and the Triad, the Triad destroying what's left of my father's criminal empire" Helena answered as she glared at him, annoyed by his interference.

"But by doing so, the resulting gang war could have far reaching complications across our city, putting multiple civilians in harm's way" Oliver countered. "It could lead to mass violence throughout the city and frankly, set it on fire. Is that what you really want?"

'I JUST WANT JUSTICE FOR MICHAEL! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?!", Helena shouted, tears streaming down her face.

"I understand your need for justice believe me I do, and more than you can possibly imagine. But I can't just sit back and let you not only lose yourself in hate and vengeance that you end up burning this city to the ground. And yes, Michael's life is important but the rest of the lives in this city matter just as much. Can't you see that?", Oliver implored, trying to get her to understand where he was coming from.

Helena on her part took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions and knowing that Oliver was correct. She desperately wanted justice, or vengeance, for Michael, the man she'd always consider to be the love of her life. But as furious as she was with her father for robbing him of his life, she also knew that she couldn't risk the lives of innocents and knew that their families would be as heartbroken as she was if they lost them, and she could not do that in good conscience.

"So what can we do Oliver?", she asked desperately, hoping he would have a solution for this conundrum. Oliver sighed, thinking it over, but knew he needed for time to do so.

"For now you just go back home or to a hotel somewhere, and I'll think about all of this and our next moves and then contact you again. Will you please promise me that you'll wait in the meantime until I figure it out?", Oliver begged her. Helena turned to look at him, regarding him for a bit while mulling kt over. After a bit, she turned to face him again.

"Very well, I'll wait until you come up with something" she answered, deciding to give him a chance. I can't stand to even be at the same house as my father though so I'll be waiting at the place where we spent the night." Oliver quietly sighed with relief.

"Alright then, and like I said, I'll contact you", he replied to her, glad he was able to stop her before she went increasingly down a dark road and did something she might regret.

"See you then", she said to him with a small smile, and then turned, put her helmet back on, straddled her motorcycle, then drove away. Oliver watched her leave, then made his way back to the bunker to think.

AAAAAAA

_Back In The Bunker, Or Arrow Cave_

Oliver paced around in his lair, meditating on as to what he'd do. He knew where Helena was coming from and the desire for vengeance. After all he'd nearly tortured Shreive to death over the Yamashiros son Akio when the young boy died due to the release of the bioweapon Shreive caused. He'd killed Fyers during his first year away and while he'd done it to rescue Shado, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction since he'd murdered her father Yao Fei and threatened her as well. And there were times when he'd been tempted to end Waller for what she'd put him through and threatened to do to his family if he didn't cooperate. So he fully knew how Helena felt.

However he was not going to see his city fall due to one woman's vendetta and especially since he was working hard to save his city.

Speaking of her father, Oliver remembered that Frank was on his father's List and therefore a part of the disease infecting the city. That meant he had to go after him eventually. Plus he'd done his research on him and just like in the Justin Clayborne case and a few other targets of his that he'd been researching, Frank and his people had numerous connections throughout the citywide establishment, enough to even, like Clayborne, buy the courts, judges, and jury.

Oliver also contemplated turning him over to the F.B.I, but had a gut feeling that it wouldn't fly over well with Helena. He knew how determined she was to make her father pay and the last thing he needed was for her or himself to get into a conflict with the federal agency. That would be disastrous. Not only that, but maybe seeing her father dead would be the closure she needed while Oliver would permanently have one less corrupt and murderous individual out there poisoning his city.

Having finally made up his mind, Oliver phoned Helena and summoned her to the bunker, and then hung up and waited for her. After she arrived and came inside, Oliver addressed her.

"I've given it plenty of thought, and I've decided that thus is something that you need. Therefore I will help you to kill your father and obtain your vengeance, but we're not going to go on a killing spree or risk the lives of innocents. Will you agree to these terms?", he asked, hoping she'd be reasonable and say yes.

Needless to say, Helena was surprised by his offer, not expecting that at all and causing her to see him in a different light. After taking a moment to absorb what he'd just said, Helena answered him.

"Very well Oliver. I agree to your terms, and thank you so much for agreeing to help me. And I promise not to hurt any innocent people", she said to him, smiling warmly at him, happy to finally get her version of justice for Michael and also in a way that wouldn't hurt the city since she loved it as much as Oliver did. And while she'd always love Michael deeply, at this moment she was starting to fall a little bit more in love with Oliver.

Oliver returned her smile, glad she'd accepted his offer. The two of them then went to work, planning and strategizing as to how they'd achieve their goal, confident in the plans they were putting together.

**To Be Continued**

**A/N The reason I made Frank so powerful was because in canon it was implied in canon that there was the option of turning him over to the authorities instead of killing him. But for this fic's purposes, I decided to make him as well connected as Clayborne so that there'd be a bit more justifiable excuse for Oliver to help Helena end him.**

**And as I wrote above, while Oliver could also deliver him to the F.B.I, He understands that her father's death is something Helena needs in order to move on. That's why he's agreed to help her. But he's not going to have her go around dropping bodies.**

**I'll hopefully have chapter 2 up eventually.**


	2. Chapter 2

**And now Oliver and Helena initiate their plan.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Arrow".**

"You're going to do what Oliver?", Diggle asked his friend in surprise after what Oliver had just explained to him.

"I'm going to help Helena kill her father. He's too powerful and dangerous to be kept alive, is on my father's List, and taking him out could be the closure Helena needs", Oliver repeated himself.

"Look man you can't be serious. That woman put your mother in the hospital and has probably been risking the lives of other innocent civilians while dropping who knows how many bodies. And you're just gonna what? Go off and help her?", Diggle exclaimed, wondering what Oliver was thinking.

"Look John. Helena's not evil, only lost, and I just want to help her. And besides what I told you about Frank, he also had her fiancé murdered. He thought the man was an F.B.I. informant but it was actually Helena who was the informant. Besides if Floyd were hypothetically still alive and you saw him face to face, can you really say that you wouldn't want to take your brother's killer out no matter what?"

Dig sighed, understanding Oliver's point but still having reservations.

"Listen man, that's deep and I get it. And yeah, if it were Andy I'd probably do the same thing. But we can't just let Helena go out there and wreak havoc everywhere. You know that Oliver.

"I do know that, and that's also why I've decided to help her", the other man answered. "If I can keep her close by me then I can keep her from endangering this city or doing anything she might regret while still helping her obtain her vengeance. And what happened to my mom was an accident and this way, if all goes well, I can prevent any more accidents from happening."

Dig frowned a bit, but decided to trust Oliver's judgment.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing man", Dig said to him while patting him on the back before walking away. Oliver just grimaced.

"Me to man, me to", Oliver said to himself while getting ready for tonight.

AAAAAA

Oliver and Helena, currently wearing their respective Hood and Huntress uniforms, were currently sitting above a warehouse as they conducted surveillance on their first target, a prominent servant of Frank's by the name of Anthony Venza, who was also on the List. Helena had wanted to kill him as well but Oliver had talked her out of it, insisting that her father should be the only one to die.

"Remember, we wait for the exchange to happen between Venza, his people, and the other guys they're doing the exchange with and then we move in after recording evidence of it, alright?", Oliver asked her, making sure she was still on board.

"Let's do this", she answered confidently. The two vigilantes watched as Venza conducted the deal while recording it with their recording devices. Once the deal was done, they put away their devices and then moved to confront the thugs down below.

"Anthony Venza?", Oliver growled out to him while pointing an arrow at the villain, his voice modifier disguised said voice.

"You have failed this city", Helena added, picking up from where Oliver left off. The Hood and the Huntress then leapt into the crowd of thugs and engaged them, leading to an exchange of furious roundhouse kicks, punches, and hand to hand combat. Oliver also continuously fired arrows at the thugs, especially those who tried to flee the scene, but with no kill shots while Helena did the same with her crossbow, shooting some thugs in their legs while they screamed in agony as the arrows pierced them. Soon the battle wound down and all of the thugs, both Venza, his people, and the criminals he was negotiating the deal with, were all subdued and knocked unconscious.

Before leaving though, Oliver left the recording nearby and then gave an anonymous tip to the F.B.I. Oliver and Helena then watched in satisfaction, but hidden, as F.B.I. agents raided the place and took Venza and the others into custody. All in all a good night's work.

When Frank heard the news, he was completely furious by this setback. First his closest friend and main hit man Nick Salvati is found with his neck broken and now Venza is also out of the equation while a large chunk of his organization is destroyed by two vigilantes and the F.B.I.? He knew he needed to do something before he lost everything he'd worked for and built for himself over the years.

As the next few days and weeks passed, Oliver and Helena continued to target other powerful associates and servants of the latter's father while still anonymously turning everyone they took down over to the F.B.I., slowly but steadily dismantling the Bertinelli crime family and their entire organization. Helena on her part also enjoyed going home and seeing her father ranting and raging about his troubles but knew that the worst was to come for him.

After some time, the two vigilantes finally managed to destroy most of Frank's organization and remove most of his people from the board, leaving only the core members of the main portion of the crime family, along with Frank himself, and were now ready to move against the man himself. They also decided that they needed to find evidence containing the names of everyone on Frank's payroll within the city's institution so that those people could also be removed from power.

As for the couple themselves, they continued to fall more and more in love with each other and went on many romantic dates together, getting to know each other even more and really connecting. Helena did not think she could find this deep love ever again after Michael but was grateful that she had. As for Helena herself, she was eager for the final stage of their mission and when she faced her father.

"Soon Frank. Very soon", she whispered to herself while looking forward to when she'd finally confront her father face to face.

**To Be Continued**

**A/N The next and final chapter will be the confrontation and I hope you'll like it.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone, how are you? I've finally returned and here is the long awaited final chapter and the conclusion of this story.**

**_Only reviewer_****: Thanks in regards to checking out my version of a toned down Helena.**

**_highlander348_****: That's a very good idea, I'll incorporate that here, and thank you for it. And it does have a bit of a nice ring.**

**_toile grant: _****Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own ****_"Arrow"_****.**

Helena and Oliver stood before her father's mansion, prepared to commence the final aspect of their mission. Sometime before that, Oliver, after having conducted a diligent search, had finally ascertained as to the whereabouts of Helena's laptop, which included the most incriminating intel against her father and, as they both hoped, info regarding everyone throughout the city's institution who were on the Bertinelli's payroll from SCPD members, judges, lawyers, some bankers, and a few members of the city council.

As they stood and surveyed the amount of guards and the area around the mansion, where Helena had once considered home, Oliver reached over and gently grabbed ahold of her hand.

"Are you ready for this?", he gently asked her, staring at her face for any signs of hesitance.

"As ready as I'll ever be", she answered him with confidence while giving his hand a squeeze, grateful for her boyfriend's concern. The two of them then moved forward and firing their tranq arrows by means of their bow and crossbow respectively, Oliver and Helena managed to put subdue all of the guards that made up the first security ring. Quietly moving forwards afterwards, the couple then encountered the second security ring that Helena had told Oliver about and they tranqed them as well.

Next was the third and final security ring, heavily armed, who noticed the two vigilantes and letting out sounds of surprise and alarm, moved to engage them. The Hood and the Huntress met their attack head on and the two sides battled ferociously with spinning kicks, hand to hand, ducking, dodging, and plenty of fabulous flips and moves while bullets and arrows flew about.

Helena and Oliver were able to quickly gain the upper hand however and managed to subdue the enemy combatants, though some guards continued to brutally fight back and left them no choice but to use lethal force against them.

Meanwhile, inside of the mansion, Frank heard the commotion outside and after having his thugs check it out, they returned and reported the situation to him, causing him to realize, with fear, that the vigilantes who'd been dismantling his operations and singlehandedly tore down most of his organization had finally come for him. He immediately gave orders to his security team and the rest of his thugs to do all they could to repel the vigilantes and to fight to the last man. Everyone went and gathered their weapons, arming themselves, then moved out to await the vigilantes arrival.

Meanwhile the Hood and the Huntress made their way into the mansion, following their battle with the final security ring outside, and came across the small army of enemy combatants before them. After a silent and silent exchange between both sides, Oliver and Helena turned to each other, nodded, and then moved to engage their opponents who met them head on.

What followed was a ferocious battle between each side, Helena and Oliver dodging and weaving as the thugs unleashed aggressive and brutal kicks and punches upon them, fighting furiously as Frank had ordered them to, not holding back while also firing their weapons, consisting of rifles, machine guns, at the vigilantes which forced them to duck a few times.

They were not deterred however, fighting back just as furiously as Frank's men did all they could to counter them and engaging in a mixture of hand to hand, flying kicks, kick boxing, and karate chops while firing their arrows rapidly and with precision. Between the vigilantes and the thugs, there was an array of incredible and brutal moves as neither side held back while arrows and bullets flew all around them.

A few times, when two set of thugs came at them, Oliver leaped into the air and struck them down with a flying kick. Helena on her part dropped her own body downwards and then slid her body across the floor as she swept the legs of the rest in one swoop.

After plenty of hard fighting, the Hood and the Huntress finally managed to subdue the enemy combatants, killing those who continued to resist, and then continued moving deeper into the mansion as they searched for Frank. As they searched, they came across other enemy opposition but subdued them just as they did the others, along with anyone else who stood in their way.

They finally managed to locate him at his safe as he was just finishing the retrieval of his briefcase when he turned and saw them, angry that they'd gotten through his men. He quickly pulled out his small handgun and tried to fire at them, and even letting loose a few bullets. Both of them remained unfazed by his pitiful attempts and Oliver on his part threw a fleche at his gun, successfully disarming him. He then turned and tried to run but his once daughter raised beer crossbow and fired an arrow into his thigh, sending him collapsing to the ground in pain.

Desperate now, the defeated and once powerful crime boss tried crawling on his belly in a fruitless attempt to escape his fate, his dragging leg leaving a streak of blood behind it from the arrow embedded in his flesh, all the while as Oliver and Helena slowly approached him, not in a hurry and knowing he could not escape them. He finally turned on his back to face them, his eyes filled with fear.

"Please guys, please, I'll give you anything you want, anything. Just please, please don't hurt me", he desperately begged of them, still trying to craw away until his back met with the wall behind him. The Hood and the Huntress responded to his pleas with cold, unyielding expressions on their faces. The Hood then moved closer to him.

"Frank Bertinelli, you have failed this city!", he growled at the disgraced criminal beneath him, the other man shuddering at his voice and now understanding that his fate, whatever it may be, was sealed. Following that, the Huntress moved closer until she was right above him and then kneeling down until she was face to face with him, she removed her mask and Frank, upon seeing who she was behind the mask, responded with a look of shock, horror, and betrayal.

"Helena?", he gasped out in anguish, realizing that it was his own flesh and blood who was a major reason as to why his criminal empire had been torn to shreds. "Why angel? Why would you do this to me, your own father, to our family? Why would you dismantle everything we've built and accomplished over the years?"

Helena looked at him with anger, but mixed with tears as they streamed down her face.

"Because, _daddy_," she replied to him while spitting out the word with venom, "I've had enough of this. Of all of this. Everything you created has been built upon the blood of innocents and you don't care who you hurt, bully, bribe, corrupt, and murder just as long as you get your way. And then you murdered my Michael, the man I loved more than life itself. And now I'm here to ensure you pay with your life for taking his."

Now realizing why his daughter had turned against him, he tried to reason with her, having deluded himself that he'd done what was best for her.

"But you don't understand honey. Michael was going to betray me. He was going to betray all of us. He had a laptop filled with incriminating evidence that he was going to turn over to the F.B.I. Don't you see? I did it for us."

Helena shook her head as angry tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"No dad. He was not about to betray us. I was! The laptop was mine and I was the one talking to the . Of course your old colleague Nick Salvati thought it was him and confessed to murdering him on your orders before I snapped his neck. And now, you're next. Oh, and both my colleague and I currently have the laptop and will soon be releasing its contacts to the F.B.I as I intended."

Frankly eyes widened in horror at these revelations, especially the truth about Nick's death. His own daughter, his only child, was the one who betrayed their family? He could not believe it and yet the proof was standing in front of him. He then began laughing.

"Why on earth are you laughing? What exactly is so funny?", Helena asked her once father as she narrowed her eyes at him, mildly bewildered by his reaction. The mobster looked up at her as he shook his head, amused.

"I'm just laughing at the whole irony of this situation", he replied, still chuckling. "My own daughter, the one I read bedtime stories to every night, took to her first ballerina practice, held her when her first crush broke her heart, has turned against me. Never thought I'd see the day. And poor Michael was innocent all along. Well I'm sorry honey but it's actually your fault that your precious fiancé is dead."

Helena trembled with fury at his words.

"No, it's your fault he's dead!" she countered angrily. "And yes, I should've been more careful when communicating with the F.B.I. for it might've saved Michael's life, and I'll have to live with that guilt for the rest of my life. But it's ultimately your fault that he ended up with a bullet in his head since you care for no one but yourself and your power regardless of anyone else. And now I've come to remove you from the playing field and ultimately, to avenge my Michael."

Seeing at this point that his daughter was a lost cause, he stared at her defiantly.

"Yeah, well, you might've killed a lot of my men, and Nicky as well, but I doubt you'll be able to kill your own flesh and blood despite how much you hate me", he said darkly, not believing that his once daughter had the guts to do it. Helena on her part responded by raising her bow as Oliver watched impassively.

"You are no longer my father, and I do have the guts to do it for you are a poison upon this city. And this is for Michael!". And upon saying those words, and without preamble, Helena fired her crossbow and released an arrow into his heart, bringing to an end the man she had once called father and finally avenging her beloved Michael. Soon after, sirens were heard outside which Oliver noticed.

"We need to go now", Oliver said to her, and Helena, looking back at her father's body one last time, complied and taking her boyfriend's hand, the two vigilantes made their way out of the mansion and vanished into the night as the SCPD arrived on the scene.

AAAAAA

Back at the foundry, Oliver and Helena changed their clothes while helping to clean each other's bruises from the fight that night. Before that, they'd anonymously emailed all of the info on Helena's laptop to the F.B.I. and watched in satisfaction as the news recorded the arrest of multiple citywide officials and SCPD officers revealed to be on Frank's payroll. After they'd finished changing clothes and putting away their items, Oliver watched as Helena sat down on the floor with a look of contemplation upon her face. Concerned, Oliver sat down next to her.

"Are you alright?", he asked her worriedly. Helena sighed in response and bit her lip as she looked down, followed shortly by a tear falling from her eye.

"For so long I wanted to kill my father for what he'd done to Michael. For so long I was certain that I would find peace once he was gone. And it's not like I'm not glad he's dead because I am. But at the same time, now that he's gone, I don't feel any true satisfaction. In fact, I feel nothing", she softly explained as she started to get emotional, placing her hands on her face and beginning to cry. Oliver responded by placing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side, holding her close.

"Believe me when I can say with certainty that I know the feeling. In fact I've learned the hard way that there's no satisfaction from vengeance and that it's not the road towards true peace. In fact it can sometimes make us feel hollow and perhaps even worse than we already felt", he gently explained to her while also placing a kiss onto her hair, causing her to snuggle closer to him. "All we can do instead is to learn from our actions, past and present, and instead due our best to move on."

Helena sniffed a bit in response as she continued to cuddle with Oliver.

"I suppose you're right", she said to him with a sigh, and then turned to face him, hoping he would agree to what she was about to request of him. "In fact, and if you and Diggle will have me, I would love to start by joining your team and helping the two of you take down everyone on your father's list, besides my own father, who are poisoning this city. I would also like to further try your method not killing the bad guys except when absolutely necessary."

Oliver responded to her request with a warm, welcoming smile.

"Of course you may join our team, and while Dig is a fantastic partner it would also be a good thing to have even more help", he answered with enthusiasm, fully agreeing with her request. "And hopefully together we could balance each other out and ensure that neither of us ever slips, making each other better."

"I'd love that as well", she replied while returning his smile, followed by the two of them leaning into each other and connecting their lips in a passionate yet gentle kiss, cementing this new journey in their lives.

AAAAAA

Needless to say, Diggle wasn't altogether happy about Helena joining the team, still having his reservations, but continued to trust Oliver's judgment while privately feeling that it would at least be a good way for them to keep an eye on her. He did privately warn her that she'd answer to him if she ever hurt Oliver, emotionally or otherwise, which she accepted and affirmed that she'd never do so for Oliver was her second chance at something better for her life.

The three of them continued to work hard to protect their city, crossing off multiple names from the List, and Diggle began to trust Helena more and more as time passed while she and Oliver continued to grow closer as a couple, falling deeper in love with each other. They also worked together to prevent Malcolm Merlyn's Undertaking and while they regrettably failed, Helena accompanied Tommy to rescue Laurel while Oliver battled Malcolm, and they were able to pull Laurel out of the wreckage at her office.

As the three of them made their way out of the crumbling office, Tommy was nearly crushed by some heavy debris which would've impaled him on a support beam right underneath him. Helena, being present, was thankfully able to grab his arm and pull him out of the way in the nick of time, leaving Laurel forever grateful to the other woman.

Oliver on his part killed Malcolm, though them man would regrettably not stay dead as would be revealed in two years, and then made his way where Helena, Tommy, Laurel, and Quentin were but had to be careful with how he conducted himself since the latter two were unaware of his identity.

The following year would give Oliver and Helena new challenges due to the arrival of Slade Wilson and his promise of vengeance towards Oliver, and he would do all he could to wreck havoc upon their lives, including very nearly killing Moira except for the fact that Helena was in the area and quickly fired her crossbow at Slade, knocking his sword out of his hand and after which Oliver, successfully freeing himself from his binds, quickly leapt up and sent the madman to the ground and then checked on his mom and sister. Slade however escaped and went on to unleash his mirakuru army onto the city, causing a blitz of destruction throughout.

Oliver at that point was filled with despair, uncertain as to whether or not he could stop Slade, but Helena assured him that he could and that he just needed to keep fighting and that she would be by his side the entire time. Her words would fill him with the strength he needed and together, along with help from some unexpected allies, managed to repel Slade's men and imprison the man himself on Liana Yu.

These events, which would be known as the Siege, would serve to remind both Oliver and Helena that life was short and with that in mind, they proposed marriage to each other and went onto marry in a small ceremony with all of their loved ones and friends in attendance. Tommy and Laurel, who were still together and going strong, stood by their side with Tommy as the Best Man and Laurel as the Maid Of Honor, the latter having formed a strong friendship with Helena and becoming like a second sister to her.

Oliver and Helena went through the ceremony, exchanging vows and rings, and once completed the minister 'rounded his blessing upon the union and concluded it by saying,

"And by the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Oliver and Helena Queen, you may now kiss each other".

The couple, now married, did exactly that and shared in their first kiss together as husband and wife while the everyone clapped, cheered, and wolf whistled. Oliver and Helena then pulled away from each other with loving smiles directed towards each other, happy to be married to each other and looking forward to whatever life would bring them while vowing to protect their city together all of their days.

**The End**

**A/N You know, and these are my personal thoughts, but maybe Oliver and Helena might've worked together and even made a good couple, and one with a future, if Helena had either not given into the darkness in her heart but had instead listened to Oliver in regards to finding a better way, or perhaps if canon followed a similar scenario to that of this story. Maybe.**

**What did everyone think of this story? Please let me know in the reviews if you want to.**

**Have a wonderful day and I wish everyone the best of health.**


End file.
